Faculty Book: Paul Attewell and David E. Lavin

Paul Attewell and David E. Lavin, with Thurston Domina and Tania Levey

Passing the Torch: Does Higher Education for the Disadvantaged Pay Off Across the Generations?(American Sociological Association Rose Series. Russell Sage Foundation, 2007)

Many of the policies that broadened access to higher education have come under attack in recent years by critics alleging that schools are admitting unqualified students who are unlikely to benefit from a college education. In Passing the Torch, the authors follow students admitted under the City University of New York’s “open admissions” policy, to find out whether widening college access can accelerate social mobility across generations. Comparing the record of the CUNY alumnae to peers nationwide, the authors find that when women from underprivileged backgrounds go to college, their children are more likely to succeed in school and earn college degrees themselves. Their evidence reaffirms the American ideal of upward mobility through education and makes a powerful argument in favor of college for all. Paul Attewell, professor of sociology and urban education and David Lavin, professor of educational psychology and sociology, are both at the Graduate Center. Thurston Domina and Tania Levey are graduates of the Graduate Center’s doctoral program in sociology.